Open up the circuit breaker box. Tighten down all of the screws terminating
neutral conductors on the neutral bar. After that open up every junction
box, outlet, switch, and luminaire on those two circuits and confirm that
the neutrals are spliced together tightly. Next go to the affected
appliances and make sure that the neutral is tightly connected to the
receptacles.

You can check the circuits with a pigtail socket and a light bulb or a lamp.
Turn on one circuit and plug the light in. If it lights dim or not at all,
you still have a problem. If it lights normal, the neutral and hot are
connected. Do the same with the other breaker. Next, turn them both on and
plug the light in. If it burns exceptionally bright or burns out
immediately, you still have a problem.

I'm not sure who manufactures Zinsco type circuit breakers these days. I
think Sylvania was at one time, but I seem to recall that Challenger was now
making them. In any case you should be able to buy Zinsco circuit breakers
at an electrical supply house. Changing the circuit breaker from a 2 pole
to two single pole breakers will NOT get rid of the problem if it is indeed
a broken neutral, but it is a good idea and worth doing unless it is a code
violation in your locality.

If the circuit breaker failed, you might not have any power on those
circuits. What I don't understand is why a 2 pole breaker was used for two
120 volt circuits? Is this condo located in the United States? How old is
the building? Older wiring can contain many loose connections. It is
possible that just by replacing an appliance, something that was loose
before has now separated completely. You did mention in your original post
that both appliances stopped working which prodded the purchase of a new
dishwasher. Obviously there was a problem before the new dishwasher was
installed.





"Kent Monroe" wrote in message
...

"John Grabowski" wrote in message
...
It seems as though you have a shared neutral which you failed to connect
properly, thereby sending 220 volts through the appliances. This is the
down-side of using a 2 pole breaker with a shared neutral to power 120
volt
equipment.

Stop using your voltmeter. Your readings are normal and confusing you.
Your meter is picking up voltage that is passing through each appliance.
Check your neutral connection by beginning at the panel and finish where
it
terminates at each appliance.

If it was my house, I would run a separate line and get those 120 volt
circuits off of a 2 pole breaker.


John Grabowski
http://www.mrelectrician.tv


Hi John,

Thanks for advice.

Regards to the "2 pole" breaker... I'm just reading the extraordinarily
small print off
the breaker. It's inside a "Sylvania breaker box 390-205-09", but I can't
find any reference
to Sylvania breakers. To me, the breaker looks like the pictures of the
Zinsco type R38,
or maybe RC38 (but there's no bar between them).

This is a thin double 20A breaker.
Small type on the breaker: 2 pole, issue # LK-4137
120/240 VAC type R38 (or it could be A30, A38, R30, cause damn... it's
small
print)
E16248 SA LR17830
It's 3/4" thick for the 2 switches, and 4-5/8" wide.


Is it possible to replace this 2-pole breaker with two single-pole 20A
breakers, as
another poster (gabriel, thks) suggested? Can I do this without
rewiring?

My sister-in-law's place is a condo, but think "apartment" because it's
surrounded above
and on 2 sides by other units. She says nobody has done any electrical
work in her
apartment that could explain this recent failure. Routing new wires
would
involve tearing
into walls, and major work which I'd really like to avoid, if possible
(and
she can't afford).

I didn't change any wires in the walls or anything, and hooking up the
dishwasher is very
simple. It seems unlikely that the previously working circuits were
mis-wired, shooting
220 voltage though the original appliances without an immediate failure...

Therefore, something in the current wiring failed. From what you say, it
sounds like the
"neutral" is a common neutral for this 2-pole breaker, and I should be
looking at whether
that neutral is still connected between the breaker and each of the
appliance neutrals.

You said:
Check your neutral connection by beginning at the panel and finish where
it
terminates at each appliance.

Can you please forgive my ignorance, and suggest how? Should I turn off
the
house power,
clip on a 20 foot wire to the breaker neutral, and do a
continuity/resistor
test to the neutrals of
the disposal and dishwasher in the kitchen? Or is there something else
you
had in mind?

Is it still possible it's just the breaker which has failed, or does that
sound unlikely from
what I've described?


Thanks again,
Kent